Vehicle frame construction



Aug. 27, 1935. A H, HABERSTUMP 2,012,813

VEHICLE FRAME CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 30, 1932 INVENTOR /I Z frcd Hafiz-r5210 ATTORN EY-S.

Patented Aug. 27, 1935 n v I 2012,1213, VEHICLE :ERAME CONSTRUCTION; Alfred. H. naberstammnetmn, Mien, assignor to TheMurray Corporation, of America, a corpo- -ration of Delaware Application September 30,1932, seriarnolcsacn T 'i'claima (01.296428),

i'Mysinventi'onrrelates to yeh-iclexbodies and particularly; to aroof rail therefor which is of roll section constructed touinterfitfwith'the vehicle framing elements to constitute a unit structure which :is exceedingly rig-id, "readily assemblable zand; az'materialiradvance'ment "in the art over roof railsiemployed heretofore.

The: mainrobiectsaof my invention are: to'prcwide; a roof :rail oficlosed section which. maybe structure s"for acvehicleibodyz which, i is, simple ;in

which is economical of manufacture.

ifDtherrobjects sand features of 'novelty .of my inventionwvillwbe "either specifically vpointed out construction, (which is :readily 1 assemblable and ,orawill rbecome apparent when referring: for j a better, understanding of my invention to, the following description :in conjunction with th accompanying drawing wherein:

--:Figure-.1 is aibrokenrplanyiew; of vehicle-roof irails fembodying features ofmy invention;

Fig. M2 ;is 322.11 enlarged, broken end ViGW. .of the structureillustrated'in'Figi; W Fig. 3: is: a sectional view-of the, structure illusitratedin Fig. -1 ,1takenon theline iii- 3 I thereof;

4 risz an genlarged broken viewof a the structure-illustratedein Fig. 1; and

Fig. Sis; anenlarged sectional-view ofthe'strucwture:- illustrated in Fig. 1, taken; on 1 the line 1 5-4-5 ,It has been thepracticein the art to employ lroof ,r-ails made of wooden-metal ,-w l ich--are sez'curedato, the r-paneling,-;pillar and header strucitureiin a, predetermined mannerr-to-fcrm the body rframing. iWhile this construction produced a satisfactory shady, certain features, ;of the -wood and metal rails were objactionable;requirin -con siderablexlaborzin assembiyrand, because of the position of the heavy rails at thetop of the body,

raised the center gravity thereof which increases the hazards of the resulting vehicle turning over when tilted.

In practicing my present invention, 1 provide aroof rail which istmade of stripszo'f thinsma terial which are rolled into a box section-struc-, .ture which is embodied 'with =considerable strength perunit weight. The strip is sosrolled as r to providea channel formation on-onezside 5 formed by two projectingflan'ge's at the top-and bottom of' the rail. Alsingle flange is'formed on the opposite side of the rail by the junctionof the ends. of. the strip. The F flanges pare zjdouble 'the thicknessof'the materialand :provide strength 1 0 to prevent theiridistortion when strained. The I remainder of the material forming: the ,bodya portion .of the rail is spaced :apart to' f orm Q a box section structure. Referring to the figures, -I have illustrated a roof rail 6 which is secured to a header land-pile larsrS and thy rivets, althoughit is tobe-understood thatwelding; brazing, bolts orothersecuring 1 means may be utilized for securing the roof. rails towthesupportingelements. ."I heroof 2o rail ':6 is illustrated in an enlarged section in :Fig. ;-5,- being made of a strip of'material "which is rolled in a manner to produce the bOXgStIllCtllI'B -l I, the oppositely disposed flanges l2 and-l3 and the flange M which is formed by, the edges of the strip which are mated togetherand weldedior otherwise secured to form the unit rail construction. The rail thus provided embodies the-flanges [2, 13 and M by which attachment is-madeto the pillars and :header of the body, and, since they are twice .the'thickness of the-sheetsforining the rail, can withstand considerable stress to which they maybe subjected at the attaehing- .points. i

The channel opening [5,-provided between the flanges l2 and :3, may be utilized forreceiving ataclnng striptowhich the inner finishing ele- -ments of the body may be-readilysecured; -The box structureprovided on the main portion of theheader, has considerable strength, substan- .1 tially the maximum strength which can be 'ob- .tained for the size of'the-railand the thickness of material. 'A downwardly extendinglip' |61is provided on the'flange Mior' extending over and engaging the flanges provided on'the end ofthe' .pillar or header tostrengthen the -joint-there ;between. The lip also forms a'means-for positicning and securing the-l0wer edgeof the roof z-panels to the framinglaswill be describedhere- .inaf ter.

f In the co-pending application of O. F. Graebner, Ser. No. 624,031, filed July 22, 1932, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention, a body pillar is shown, described and claimed,

connected to a top rail which embodies features the pillar 8 illustrated in Fig. 2, having a notch IS in its top end to receive the roof rail 6. The

end is flanged at It, laterally of the pillar, following the contour of the notch to closelyengage the lower and central flanges of the rail. A similar construction is illustrated in Fig. 4, effected between the engagement of the pillar 9 with the rail. The pillar is similarly formed with a notch l8 and flanges l9 atits end, by which, securement is obtained between the pillar and rail. Rivets 21 may be utilized for securing the flanges IQ of the pillar to the flanges of the rail-or other means may be'employed such as welding or brazing to form a unit joint therebetween.

In Figs. 2 and 3, I have illustrated the connection between the rolled roof rail and the front body pillar 8 and header 1 wherein the header is suitably flanged at 22 for engagement with the top flange 12 of the roof rail to which it is secured by rivets 23 or other suitable means. The side edgesof the header l are provided with rearwardly extending flanges 24 which engage the web portion IQ of the roof rail to which it is secured. by means of rivets 23 or other securing means. In like manner the reinforcing portion 25 of the front pillar 8 is of arcuate shape extending rearwardly at its upper end in engagement with the flange l3 of the roof rail to which it is secured by suitable securing means. In a similar manner the side ends of the header extend downwardly and outwardly in engagement with the flange I l which islikewise secured by rivets or similar means.

Referring more particularly to Fig; 5, I have illustrated, enlarged a section of the roof rail I and paneljat the dooropening. The panel 26 slopes downwardly and is flanged inwardly and downwardly to form a lip which engages with the lip ifi. yThe projecting end of the flange l4 positions'the panelibrelative to the frame and forms I a securing means with the lip l6 for retaining the panel in position.

At the door opening a finish molding 21 encompasses the lower side of the flange M, the lip l6 and the lip o'nfthe panel 26. The molding receives and retains the-weather strip 28 in position below the flange of the panel 21', for-sealing a door against the entrance of dust and moisture;

The molding and weather strip are secured in position by screws 29 'or other suitable securing 1 means.

Referring to Fig. 1, it will be noted that the rolled roof rails are constructed to extend over the greater portion of the length of the body but not the whole portion, the remaining portion thereof being. formed of wood rail members 26 which are secured in' extension of the metal rail section. It

is to be understood that it is within the contemplation of my invention to extend the rolledroof sections the continual length of the car body to eliminate the wood extending portion 26, to provide unit rails made entirely of metal. It will be noted that the particularrolled'section of therail provides many desirable features, such as added strength in the presence of decreased weight, the presence of flanges positioned to be readily attached to ends of various cross braces and pillars and also a channel 15 formed by the flanges l2 and i3 for receiving a wood tackgravity of the body. By having flangesv l2 and 13 v extending on the inner side of the rail and the flange l4 disposed centrally of the height of the rail and outwardly of the body, attaching ledges are provided in position to be readily engaged by flanges on the elements to which the rail is to be attached, or to be attached to the rail, which materially strengthensv the element and the rail rather thanweakens it as oftentimes occurs.

While I have described and illustrated but a single embodiment'of my invention it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes, omissions, additions and substitutions may be made therein without departing from" the spirit and'scope of the invention, as set forth'in. the accompanying claims.

Iclaim: J

l. A rolled roof rail having a box section and a channel section formed by overlapping portions of the material whichconstitute flanges of the channel section, aflange projecting medially between the first said flanges'from the box section on the opposite side from said channel which terminates in an extremity of L-shape,- and a roof panel having'a portion engagedby said L-shaped extremity'for positioning said panel. i

2. Axrolled roof rail having a box sectionland a channel section formed by overlapping portions of the material which constitute flanges of the channel'section, a flange projecting medially between the first said flanges from the box section on the opposite side from said channel which terminates in an extremity of L-shape, a roof panel having a portion engaged by said L-shapedextremity for positioning said panel, and a finish strip covering said last flange and the junction of between the first said flanges fro'm'the box section on the oppositeside from said channel which the channel section, a flange projecting medially I terminates in an extremity of L-shape, a'roof panel having a portion engaged by said L-shaped extremity for positioning said panel, a finish strip covering said last flange and the junction of the extremity and panel to form a finishtherefor at the door opening, and a sealing element supported by said strip in a position to be engaged by a door.

4. A roof rail rolled from a unit strip of material to form a'b'ox-section construction of single thickness, two flanges extending fromsaid box section construction ofdouble the thickness'of material and spaced apart to form a channel construction with one side of said box section, the sides of said strip opposite to said channel and medially thereof forming'a flange of double 

